Collision Course
Collision Course is a collaborative EP from American rapper Jay-Z and nu metal band Linkin Park, released on November 30, 2004 by Roc-A-Fella, Machine Shop, Warner Bros. and Def Jam records. Before the album, Jay-Z had released collaborations with The Roots and R. Kelly, and Linkin Park had collaborated with various artists on their remix album Reanimation. The album was inspired by The Grey Album by Danger Mouse, which was a mash-up album between Jay-Z and The Beatles. MTV had originally planned on mashing up only one or two songs, but the project was eventually expanded to a six-song EP. The album was mostly produced by Mike Shinoda and Jay-Z, and was recorded between July 16 and July 19. Upon release, Collision Course reached #1 on the Billboard 200. As of August 2017, it was certified 2x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. The album spawned the single "Numb/Encore", which eventually won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 2006 Grammy Awards. About the EP The CD contains six tracks, mashups between songs by both artists. The DVD contains special behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the album, as well as the entire set performed at The Roxy Theatre on July 18, 2004, however Linkin Park played their own small set of songs before Jay-Z came on stage, which was not included on the DVD (save for a snippet of one performance). Also included are the five scenes from the concert shown on MTV'' Ultimate Mash-Ups'' and a picture gallery. The album's first single, "Numb/Encore", achieved great airplay on the charts, and stayed on 6 months after its release. "Points of Authority / 99 Problems / One Step Closer" was also released to the radio in the US, but was never featured on the Billboard Charts - the videos for both that track and "Jigga What / Faint" were also seen on Kerrang TV in the UK. "Izzo / In The End" was also heavily promoted on the official Linkin Park websites. Origins Shinoda revealed in his 2004 Grammys acceptance speech that he would be mashing up with Jay-Z for a record under MTV's Mash Ups show. The network allowed Jay-Z to choose a group or artist for the mash-up. Jay contacted Shinoda, who began experimenting with mixing the tracks before sending some examples to him. As a result, Jay-Z began working with Shinoda through email. The two decided that instead of combining the existing tracks for the live performance on MTV, they wanted to re-work and re-record parts of the songs to make them fit better. Shinoda explains, "Jay and I realized it's better to re-perform the rap vocals if you're gonna do it to a new beat because the vibe changes and you have to deliver your verse a little differently."http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1491889/20041028/story.jhtml Shinoda asked his bandmates to re-record instrumental and vocal tracks as well, and ultimately both parties decided they wanted to release the studio tracks.http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1491889/20041028/story.jhtml A year after the release of Collision Course, Jay-Z was the executive producer on Mike Shinoda's solo effort Fort Minor's The Rising Tied. Also, the song High Road from the same record talks about how some critics called Collision Course a fluke. This Album was also made in a "Edited/Clean Version" or a "Censored Version" however the edited version was only partly censored and did not censor the words "ass" or "bitch". Track listing This EP included the collaboration/remix of 7 Linkin Park songs ("Lying From You", "Papercut", "Faint", "Numb," "In the End", "Points of Authority", and "One Step Closer") and 6 Jay-Z songs ("Dirt Off Your Shoulder", "Big Pimpin'", "Jigga What, Jigga Who", "Encore", "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and "99 Problems"). #"Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying From You" – 4:04 #"Big Pimpin'/Papercut" – 2:36 #"Jigga What/Faint" – 3:31 #"Numb/Encore" – 3:25 #"Izzo/In The End" – 2:44 #"Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer" – 4:55 DVD contents MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups: #"It's Goin' Down - Intro" - 1:21 #"Dirt off Your Shoulder/Lying from You" – 4:04 #"Big Pimpin'/Papercut" – 2:36 #"Jigga What/Faint" – 3:31 #"Numb/Encore" – 3:25 #"Izzo/In the End" – 2:44 #"Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer" – 4:55 Category:Linkin Park albums